When employees believe that better opportunities are out there, you can bet that they will walk out the door toward greener pastures, leaving you with empty desks and a high turnover rate.
Employee turnover is just a fact of life, like the sun rising in the east or pigs believing they’re dogs. That does not mean you should give up and let great your team members slip through your fingers. The following employee retention tactics are designed to help you keep four notoriously hard-to-retain employees and build a tenured group of top performers. Check them out and tell us your thoughts! (We’ll just be over here playing with our pig-dog.)
Sleep-Deprived Parents With Erratic Schedules
Your new team member Peter rushes into the office 30 minutes later than usual, explaining that he couldn’t find a babysitter willing to care for his sick 6-month-old on late notice. He says that he may also need to leave early if his son’s cough gets worse and needs medical attention—Peter plans to play it by ear and wait for updates from the babysitter throughout the day.
Your Retention Strategy:
If your new employees just returned from maternity/paternity leave or recently adopted into their family, this hypothetical situation may not be too far off the mark; many new parents struggle with new demands on their time. After all, how many kids do you know that care about the 9 to 5 schedules of their parents?
Retaining these employees who are pulling double duty—parenting and working—involves working out a fresh, flexible work schedule that facilitates both roles. In the U.S., for instance, more than 50% of stay-at-home mothers looking to return to the workforce claimed that they would prioritize companies known for promoting a family-friendly culture. Moral of the story: don’t be a poopy employer to new parents.
Expert Manager Tip: Put away the lab coat; we’ve already crunched the numbers! Here are the ideal work schedules for you and your team members, according to science.
C-Suite Execs Who Wear Heavy Crowns
Maria is a CFO who recently joined your company after her heavily tenured predecessor retired. Coming into the organization as “an outsider” and quickly attempting to fill some big shoes, she’s at risk of becoming isolated and overwhelmed within her first year.
Hang On To Top Talent:
5 of every 10 executives claim that they are unaware of what is expected of them in their roles, according to one Gallup study. Other data demonstrates that more than half of executives feel lonely, and that 60% of these people believe their loneliness negatively affects performance. News flash: C-suite executives are people, too! They need friends and moral support just like the rest of us.
Position leaders like Maria for success in your organization by cultureboarding them as you would with every other employee. For instance, develop a yearlong program where your new C-suite team member:
- Pairs up with other senior leaders for mentorship and friendship
- Becomes familiar with your company culture
- Understands what they are responsible for
- Sets realistic goals and proactively addresses challenges
Expert Manager Tip: Brush up on your new hire IQ in our brief cultureboarding guide!
“Manager Material” Graduate Hires
One of your newest hires, Jason, recently earned a graduate degree in marketing… and dreams of becoming a manager along with his newly minted diploma. Without a promotion, he may get a serious case of wandering eyes and start looking outside of your company to level up in his career.
Retain and Rock On:
Knighting Jason into a manager can not only keep him engaged, but also increase the odds of success within the role. Research shows that while external hires tend to land higher salaries than internal promotions, existing employees promoted into their roles tend to perform better by the 24-month mark than their externally sourced counterparts.
All in all, upward mobility for team members like Jason is a win-win for your company—you get a new manager who is thrilled at the idea of leading others while also slashing the learning curve and minimizing costs. Talk about a no-brainer for brainy Jason!
Beginners At Risk of Burnout
Natalia joined your organization right after university. This is her first job and she has a lot on her plate: understanding her role and responsibilities, navigating an inter-generational workplace, managing expectations, and balancing work and life. How can you ensure that Natalia runs a marathon and not a sprint?
Keep Your Killer Team Members:
A gung-ho attitude is great!... until it isn’t. Enthusiasm, if not carefully funneled in the right direction, can easily get out of hand and lead to new job burnout among fresh hires. In fact, 50% of professionals experience burnout at some point, making it one of the most detrimental and costly afflictions that your company can come down with. We’re not telling you to stamp out Natalia’s excitement, not by a long shot! Just be sure to use our four favorite strategies for preventing burnout before it ever becomes a problem.
Did someone call a handyman? Because we’ve come bearing our best onboarding toolkit yet.
Click here to download Talmundo’s FREE onboarding whitepaper that explains what successful onboarding looks like and how much money it can save your company!
.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
